Junior Sasha Tepman and other students are partnering with the Psychology Club to help students understand the impacts of social media and give them space to be offline through an upcoming club: a Heritage chapter of the Organization for Social Media Safety (OFSMS). Tepman and junior Sophie Masel are members of the Student Advisory Council of the Organization for Social Media Safety who are looking to give Heritage students a voice in the discussion surrounding social media.
OFSMS is the first consumer protection organization solely focused on social media. The organization is dedicated to teaching social media safety skills, advocating for policy that makes social media safer and developing technology that protects against social media-related dangers.
The students’ goal with a Heritage chapter of OFSMS is to “find what us kids want to see be regulated in technology,” Masel said. OFSMS has effected real legislation with its advocacy; most notably, the organization worked with the California legislature to pass Jordan’s Law, which increases punishment for violence perpetrated with the intent of filming. Jordan’s Law is named after the son of OFSMS’s founder, Jordan Peisner. He inspired his father to found the organization after he experienced devastating violence influenced by social media.
Masel and Tepman learned about OFSMS through a presentation at Heritage conducted by its founder, Ed Peisner. As it turns out, Tepman’s cousin goes to the same school Jordan Peisner went to. Additionally, Tepman has a little sister whom she worries about:
“I want to make sure that she grows up safely,” Tepman said.
Masel recalled an uncomfortable experience she went through using social media as a young child that has lingered with her to this day:
“I stumbled across a Storybooth animation of a girl’s experience with her brother and self-harm,” she said.
Storybooth is a YouTube channel that animates people’s true stories. Because of the visuals and intense emotion of the video, Masel said, she was scarred.
Despite the harms social media can cause, Masel and Tepman believe there are benefits. They aim to educate students not only on the harmful impacts of social media but the beneficial ones as well. They also hope to create a space where students can disconnect from the online world.
Tepman and Masel encourage students, especially underclassmen, to join and take up positions. They can email [email protected] for more information and to discuss a role in the club.
“It’s really important we have kids who want to speak about it come and speak,” Tepman said.
